Address—C. Hendricks
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Boy, to look above and see thee on the throne, to search the heights and depths of love which thou to us has shown.
And owed his joy the path to trace by thee, so meekly trod learning of thee to walk in grace and fellowship with God. 106.
Oh Lord, destroy.
On the world.
The story is for all its friends. That's all lonely. It's frozen to us and to.
Your joy to unfair.
Why do you want my name?
To flow away.
Heart growling.
Oh lovely.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for that blessing.
3rd with me tonight to Leviticus, Chapter 2.
In the first chapter of Leviticus we have the burnt offering.
Which brings before us Christ, this perfect obedience in death.
And the glory that he brought to God.
And our acceptance before God in Him, and now in the second chapter, now that we are accepted in Him, taken into favor in the beloved, we become a part of a priestly family. And it's to the priestly family that they are privileged to feed upon the meat offering Christ in His.
Blessed life as he was down here, as he walked through this scene, and that's what you have in chapter 2. And I'm just going to touch upon a few verses, not to look at it in detail and then consider certain things that we have in the chapter.
And when any will offer a meat offering, it's really a meal offering or a grain offering. There was no blood involved in this offering. It speaks of Christ's holy humanity. When any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be a fine flower. Fine flower is a beautiful picture in the word of God, of the perfect humanity of Christ. No inconsistencies, no incongruities, No.
Hard particles. If one was to represent our humanity, there would be.
Hard lumps in it with pieces of grit and so on, but.
Fine flowers. You can run your fingers through fine flour and you don't find any unevenness. It's all perfect consistency and smoothness. And this was the life of Christ. There's no one predominating characteristic or feature that you can point to Him you can take. You can take, for instance, of the Apostles James and John. They were called Sons of Thunder Peter. He was very impetuous and forward and spoke often before thinking.
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Those were characteristics. Those are things that stood out in him. We all have our strong points and our weak points, but that's not true of the Lord Jesus.
There was number such a thing as a strong point in him or a weak point in him. There was always.
Perfect evenness, and in every aspect of his walk down here, and it is holy life. As a man he was perfectly even represented here by the fine flower, and he shall pour oil upon it always at type in Scripture of the Holy Spirit. The oil of the Spirit of God upon the fine flower He was born of the Spirit He was begotten of the Holy Spirit.
And he was also anointed of the Holy Spirit. Everything he did as a dependent, obedient man was done in the power of a of an ungrieved spirit. And then there's the frankincense And put frankincense at their eye. Frankincense speaks, of course. It's an incense, and it's that which went up to God on the altar. In fact, all of the meat offering that had the frankincense on it was placed upon the altar, and it all went up to God.
One hymn writer puts it. The frankincense is Vine speaking to God the Father. The frankincense is dying. He is the one that evaluated that perfect, holy, sinless, impeccable life. The life of his beloved son. Become a man. And it was all St. Savored. It was frankincense, and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priest. That's us in type. We are the sons of Aaron. We are the priestly family, and it's our privilege.
Now that we're accepted in the beloved under the burnt offering, we now can feed on Christ as He walked down here His holy life.
What a wonderful privilege. Now she shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests, and he shall take there out his handful of flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof. So all the part that had the frankincense on it, that was all placed on the altar, that was God's sacked offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord. Frankincense is that which only God himself.
Could appreciate and value in that perfect, holy, sinless life of his beloved Son. He expressed it two times at the River Jordan. This is my beloved Son whom I am well pleased. They get on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is my beloved Son from whom I am well pleased.
Now verse three, and the remnant of the meat offering, the rest of it shall be Aaron's and his sons. So what a privilege Aaron and his sons, the priestly family privilege to feed upon Christ as he's presented to us, especially in the four Gospels, as he was down here as a man. It is the thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. That's repeated again in verse 10. I'll read it. And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons, our portion.
It is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. This meat offering, setting forth the the holy humanity of Christ, is a thing most holy.
In Adam, as he was created of God, the state of his humanity was a state of innocence. He was created in innocence without sin, but capable of sinning. After he sinned, the state of his humanity changed. He was no less a man after sinning as he was before. He was just as much a man after as before, but the state of his humanity changed from a state of innocence.
To a state of sinfulness.
Christ's humanity is neither innocent nor sinful. His humanity, as it says here, is most holy.
Humanity of Christ is in a state of holiness.
Incapable of spinning without sin, and incapable of sinning that stress again in verse eleven, no need offering which he shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven.
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Leaven in Scripture is always a type of evil. Take one Corinthians 5A. Little leaven leaveneth the whole love. Let us keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and fruit. So there you see Levin is a type of evil again in Galatians 5 there it was moral evil. In First Corinthians 5 and Galatians 5 it's doctrinal evil. Again a little leavened, leavened the whole love.
And he spoke about the doctrine of the Pharisees, the leaven of the Pharisees, the doctrine they're teaching.
So leaven and I don't want to dwell much on leaven because we were very familiar with that and we know that it speaks of evil. There was no leaven in the meat offering. That was a type of Christ, because there was no sin, there was no propensity, there was no.
There was number nature that could respond to sin. He was holy. What is holiness? Holiness is delight in good and abhorrence of evil. His nature, his human nature was holy. He always delighted in good, in his Father's will, and he abhorred evil. And that is holiness. And there was the exclusion, as we have it here of Levin.
No need offering which you shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven.
For ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey.
In any offering of the Lord made by fire now verse 13.
And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt.
Neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering with all thine offerings. Thou should offer salt. Now that's all I'm going to need from this chapter.
Two things were absolutely excluded from the meat offering. Speaking of Christ, Levin speaks of evil and hunt.
And I'd like to talk tonight about hunting and what it speaks of natural sweetness, amiability of nature. The meat offering that spoke of Christ excluded honey.
But there's one thing that had to be in every meat offering.
Excluded level 2, of course. But there's one thing that had to be couldn't be lacking. That was salt. And what does that speak of? It speaks of the energy of holiness preserving from sin when I was in Jamaica as a young man in my 20s.
Visiting around in the back parts of Jamaica, where there was no electricity, the only lighting they had were oil lamps.
And they had no refrigeration. So the way they preserve the meat was they packed it in salt. Salt is a preservative and so the the salt of the covenant of of his God was not to be lacking in any of the meat offerings. It's the preserving power of holiness in the life of the Lord Jesus preserving from from sin. There was that salt.
But there was not to be leavened, and we could understand that very easily, but neither was there to be honey.
And we oftentimes.
Fail right here.
The Lord Jesus, though he had natural affection, says in Second Timothy 3. In the last days men shall be without natural affection, and we ought to have natural affection. Children should love their parents. Parents should love their children. Wives should love their husbands. Husbands should love their wives. There should be affection in the family. Brothers should love their sisters.
And their other brothers and sisters likewise. That's proper. But when natural affection, honey.
Controls us and guides our judgment and guides our pathway, especially in regards to spiritual things that is to be excluded.
And I'd like to look at the life of the Lord Jesus and also some other illustrations.
From others in the Old Testament and the New that were controlled.
By what would be considered honey. The first illustration is in Genesis chapter.
12.
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And it has to do with the pattern man of faith Abraham.
Genesis chapter 12 We read verse one.
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great. And thou shalt be a blessing, the Lord had said to Abraham. Three things get thee out.
From thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house. Now let's back up to the 11Th chapter, verse 27.
Now these are the generations of terror. Terror begat Abram, Nahor and Herod. So Tara was Abram's father and Heron begat Lot.
And Haren died before his father Tara, in the land of his nativity, and her of the Caldes. And Abram and Nehor took them wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, in the name of Nahor's wife Milka, the daughter of Heron, the father of Milka and the father of this cup. But Sarai was barren. She had no child. Now notice this. And Tara took Abram. While you might say that's proper according to nature.
But Abram was Abram had the call of God, it says in chapter 12 verse one.
God had said to Abram. Get the out from.
By country and by kindred and thy Father's house. But instead of obeying the call of God, now God did not call Kara to do that. He called Abram out. The call of God can only be answered in the energy of faith.
It can't be answered on the level of nature, but there was failure in Abram answering the call of God. So we read in verse 31 of Chapter 11, Tara took Abram.
His son and Lot, the son of Heron, his son said. You might say, well, that's perfectly natural, That's according to nature. But nature cannot answer the call of God. It has to be a higher principle than nature.
Kara took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Heron his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son, Abram's wife. And they went forth with them from Irv the Caldes to go into the land of Canaan. And they came unto Heron and dwelt there. I remember I traced that on the map once urged the colonies, It's way over here in the east, and there's about 400 miles to the desert to get to Canaan. But they didn't go straight across. They went up to Heron, which is in the northern part of the land, and they stopped there until.
Tara died.
Now that was not answering to the call and the days of terror were 205 years and terror died inherent They got to Heron which was not in Canaan which was not answering to the call of God. And terror dies. And now that terror is dead then Abram can answer the call of God. He couldn't do it as long as he was controlled by nature and so he had to be delivered from that. And the death of terror did that and then he answered.
The call of God. I want to make this statement that nature cannot, never will answer the call of God. Nature cannot walk in the path of faith. It will not walk in the path of faith. It can't. It can only be done by faith. It can only the path of faith can only be trodden by faith and by those who have faith and those who are walking according to that path.
Now let's turn to Matthew 16, where we'll have another illustration, this time from the Apostle Peter of Nature.
Natural affection.
Natural love controlling Peter.
Matthew 1621.
Now it's interesting that just in the previous part of Matthew 16 the Lord had asked the question, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, AM? And they they gave the answer. And then he said, Whom say ye that I am? He asked that of the disciples. And Simon Peter answering said to Art the Christ the Son of the living God.
And the Lord said, Blessed art thou Simon Bargilah, for flesh and blood, if not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. And he called him, blessed he would he had received that as a revelation from the Father. But now the Lord it says in verse 21, From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem.
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And suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised again the 3rd day. I wonder at all when I read this, and when I get Peter's answer. You wonder at all if he heard the last part he raised again the 3rd day. I don't believe he did, because they when the women came with the report that he's risen, they believed him not. They believed that, not the report.
But Peter certainly heard that he must suffer and many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed.
And then he says, Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from the Lord, this shall not be unto thee, be it far from the Lord. Pity yourself, don't allow this to happen. Save yourself from this, what you've told us about being dead, being killed, being put to death, and suffering. And then the severest rebuke that the Lord ever administered to anyone is now administered to the very man that he had just pronounced blessing, because he had confessed the truth of this person.
But he turned and said unto Peter gently behind me. Satan. Thou art an offense unto me, for thou savers not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Peter was acting from the natural man. He loved, the Lord Jesus. He had real affection for the Lord Jesus, and he was trying to spare him the sufferings and death that he had just described. He must go through. We don't like the cross.
We don't like rejection, we don't like suffering. The natural man recoils with horror added And Peter, trying to save the Lord Jesus from going through that, is administered a very severe review called Satan. Get the behind the Satan. Thou savers not the things that be of God, but those of thee of men. One moment he's pronounced blessed by the master, the next moment of a severe rebuke.
Under the very title of Satan falling right into the hands of the adversary himself in trying to prevent the Lord from going to the cross, had Peter's advice given with good intention given because he really loved the Lord and he wanted to preserve him. He wanted to save him from suffering and death. He had good motives, but he was altogether wrong. That's honey.
That's honey. The Lord never was motivated by nature. He what? What motivated him? The will of God, which He had come to do. I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. He was always an ever guided by the word of God. And I went fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. He came out of that and he hungered. He was hungry.
Satan said, it Thou be the Son of God, Command these stones to be made bread. Satisfy your hunger, prove who you are. And he would not, because he said, Man shall not live thy dread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. He had no word from the Father to change the stones into ready could it? But he wouldn't do it, because he lived by obedience to the Father. He lived in subjection to the Father's will.
And the Father had not told him to do that. So Peter, with all good intention, speaking out of natural love for his Savior, for his master.
Tries to keep him from the cross and is severely rebuked.
The Roman Catholics teach that we should go to Mary because she has a softer, more tender heart, and then she will present our supplication to her Son, and he will not deny her because she has special access into His presence. Is that what the Scriptures teach? No. And I want to look at several of them to show that it teaches just the opposite.
Just the opposite. The first one we'll look at is in Matthew, Chapter 12.
Matthew Chapter 12.
Verse 46 While he yet talked to the people, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren, When it says, thy brethren, it means his brothers, his half brothers. After the flesh born of Joseph and Mary, his parents, behold thy mother and thy brethren my brother, stand without desiring to speak with me. But he answered and said unto him, that told him, Who is my mother?
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And who are my brethren? And He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples.
And said, Behold my mother and my brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven.
The same as my brother and sister and mother. So he sets aside the natural relationship.
In favor of the spiritual one doing the will of his father, which is in heaven. The ones who did that they were truly his brother, his sister, and his mother.
She didn't have a special audience with the Lord Jesus because she was the most privileged of all women to bear the Messiah, but she had no special claims upon him for that reason. Another instance, John Chapter 2, John's Gospel, Chapter 2.
And the third day, verse one, and the third day there was a marriage.
In Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage.
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him.
They have no wine, so she comes to him and she presents a need. It's as much as though she said they need one. Please provide it. She just. She didn't go that far, but she said they have no wine and notice how he responds.
Jesus saith unto her woman.
What have I to do with thee? My hour is not yet come. The hour for him to turn the water into wine. The water of purification, the wine of the Kingdom, the blessing of the Kingdom, the time for him to reign down here.
After the repentance of Israel, signified by the water of purification, they have to go through that before they can be brought into the blessings of the Kingdom, he says. My hour is not yet come.
He was talking about something spiritual, and the effect that it had upon Mary was.
Was very great, notice his mother saith unto the servants.
Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
She just backs off and says, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
The water of purification in the six water pots have to be applied. Israel must repent and be brought into blessing 1St through repentance, and then the joy the wine of the Kingdom will confess.
There's another.
Illustration in the Lord's Life of.
However, now you see, that would be if he had given his mother a special place. It would have been honey, and that was not in the meat offering representing Christ. It isn't that he did not love her. It is not that he did not consider her. And we'll see that in the moment in the 19th chapter when.
He was on the cross, but he never allowed the claims of nature.
To guide him in his pathway. What did guide him? The will.
Of his Father, which he had come to do. The Word of God always guided him. The Spirit of God was always the source of his fellowship with the Father, and he was always full of the Holy Ghost and LED of the Holy Spirit. Now in the 11Th chapter, we have another illustration of the Lord not being motivated by what we would consider to be honey.
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary, and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wife to speak with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. They present a need just like Mary. When she came to the Lord, they have no wife. She presented a need, and he said to her, woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hours not yet come, It's not time for me to.
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They turn the water into wine, though he did do it at that feast, but what it signified is still future. So here they come to the Lord, his sisters Mary and Martha. And they say, behold, he whom I love is to sick. He loved Lazarus. He had deep affection for Lazarus. Was this then going to govern what he was going to do? Not for a moment.
When Jesus heard that, he said this sickness.
When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
He loved them for lack of love that we read the next verse. The next verse. If he was motivated by just his love for them, for Lazarus, Mary and Martha, he would have immediately gone.
Said I'll come immediately, but we read just the opposite.
When he heard therefore that he was sick, he abode 2 days still in the same place where he was. Why did he do that? Because he had no word from the father to go. He never made a move, he never moved, he never spoke, he never acted without the father.
He says as the living Father hath sent me and I live on account of the Father, so he that eateth me, he should live an account of me.
My need is to do the will of him that sent me in to finish his work. That's what was his nourishment. His sustaining power down here in this world was to do the will of God. He was. He had taken the place of a servant. He'd become a man now. It wasn't for him to act independently, but always in subjection to the Father. The very principle of acting independently is the principle of sin.
So he had both two days still in the same place where he was.
Then after that he saith to his disciples, let us go unto Judea again.
And it says.
When Martha met him, she said, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died, all if he had only come in time.
And Mary said the same thing, though she fell at his feet.
Said, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. He was going to do something in the will of his father, far more glorious than healing Lazarus. He was going to raise him from the dead.
And so he did, and we know the story.
Verse 40 verse 39 Jesus said take you away the stone.
Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he speaketh for yet been dead 4 days. Jesus saith unto her, Said, I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou should have see the glory of God. Then they took away the stone for the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. You see, he didn't just heal last. He didn't just raise Lazarus, because he was the Son of God, and had the power to do it.
But he did it in answer to the progress.
Word to him.
Prayed he had He had asked the Father for guidance, and the Father had heard him, and given him instruction. He says, I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, hazardous comfort. And he that was dead came forth, found hand and foot with three clothes, and his face was found about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto him, Loose him.
And let him go. So I read this account as an illustration.
How that the Lord Jesus though he loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha, that didn't govern him going. And when he went it had to be as from the Father instruction from the Father.
Now I want to look at John 19, but before we do, we have to look at two other passages. Matthew, Matthew 13.
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Matthew 13.
Verse 54. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, and so much that they were astonished, and said, Whence half this man, this wisdom in these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren, his brethren, his brothers after the Flash, his half brothers through Mary, James and Joseph, and Simon and Judas? Now two of those that are mentioned here were writers of New Testament epistles.
James wrote the Epistle of James, and Jude wrote the Epistle of Jude. So four of these, two of these four brothers.
Were instrumental in writing Epistles and one of them, James, was instrumental and we're going to see that shortly.
In the early church, yet it's a very, very prominent part. And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then have this man all these things? And they were offended in him. So he had four brothers and sisters, were not told how many. Now look at John Chapter 7, please.
John Chapter 7.
Verse one after these things.
Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in jewelry because the Jew sought to kill him.
Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren, his brothers therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. This was a good bit of worldly wisdom that his brothers after the flesh gave to the Lord Jesus.
And then it says in verse 5. For neither did his brethren believe in him at this point. While the Lord was here on earth, they had not come to faith in the Lord Jesus as to who he was. They didn't believe in him at this time. And the Lord says, my time is not yet come, but your time is always ready, His time for reigning, His time to establish the Kingdom.
See, this was the feast of Tabernacles that speaks of the setting up of the Kingdom when the Lord will reign as king, He says My time hasn't come yet. Your time is always ready because you're part of this world, so your time is always ready. You're just worldlings.
The world cannot hate you because you're part of it. But me had hated it, he said. I'm not of this world, and those who are his have been taken out of it, so that he says of us they are not of this world as well. But he couldn't stay that of his brothers after the flesh because they didn't believe. The world cannot hate you but me and hateth because I testified of it that the works thereof are evil. Go get up under this feast. I go not up yet under this beast.
For my time is not yet full come.
This time hasn't come yet for him to establish the Kingdom. Now, with that as a background, let's turn to John 19.
John 19.
The Lord is on the cross.
Verse 25.
This has often been cited as a type of honey. And say the Lord showed honey here, and it's not bad at all, and we're let's look at it now. There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleophus and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and his and the disciples standing by whom he loved, that was John, the author of this gospel.
He saith unto his mother, woman, Behold thy son then, saith he to the disciple. Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her under his own home.
That's very tender. It's very precious. The Lord most surely had natural affection for his mother.
We've seen these other instances where he was not controlled by his mother. He was not under obligation to act as from his mother. Whatever she told him he acted as from the father. He always acted according to the will of God. It was always the salt that governed his motive. Not honey, not nature, but salt. His relationship to God is father.
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But did he not love his mother? Most assuredly he did. Now this incident in John 19 proves 2 Things. It proves first of all that Joseph had died.
Mary's husband. He's off the scene. If he was still there, then the Lord would not have committed his mother to anyone else because Joseph would have cared. Would have cared for her. Why didn't he leave her with?
Her four sons and daughters that we read of in Matthew 13.
They were still living.
We know that James and Jude were living because they wrote epistles in the New Testament.
Now referred to later because they were still in underneath. What do we do? What a rebuke to them that he could not leave his mother. If he was acting just by nature, according to the principle of hunting, he would have said nothing. He would have just left his mother for her sons and daughters to care for her, but instead he commits her to John.
The disciple whom Jesus was to one who had faith, to one who was spiritual, to one that would care for her as he desired. What a rebuke to his brothers after the flesh. Now turn to Acts chapter One, please.
Acts, Chapter One. The Lord is risen now.
Here we have a resurrection scene verse 13 and when they were come in they went up into an upper room where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Phillip and Thomas.
Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon's, Elohim, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer. Those were the apostles. Minus Judas is carried, of course. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. There you have his brothers after the flesh. They're there now. They've come to faith now through the resurrection.
Now he's risen and they saw him in resurrection, and they now believe, and they're there. They're there with the other believers, very beautiful and wonderful. They weren't there when it was just a matter of nature, but now they've passed from nature into the spiritual realm that they've been born of God.
That which is born of the flesh's flesh, and the flesh profiteth nothing, And as long as one is only in the flesh, he cannot see the Kingdom of God and enter into it, can't understand it, can't appreciate it, can't value it. We need to have a new nature.
Now turn to 1St Corinthians 15 Please another resurrection chapter, First Corinthians 15.
Verse three I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas.
Who's that? That's Peter, of course. Whose other name? Cephas. Why did he appear to Cephas in resurrection? Because Cephas. Peter had denied the Lord three times with oaths and curses, and he had said I won't do that. But he had done it, and he needed to be restored individually first before he was restored publicly. So he appeared to Cephas.
Then of the 12, the 12 apostles, and after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained under this present, but some are fallen asleep. And after that he was seen of James. Who is this?
Well, it was his brother. His half brother.
You say. How do you know that? Well, the very next thing it says, then, of all the apostles, he's not one of the apostles.
He's separate. He's distinct from the apostles. James was not an apostle, but he had a place of leadership in the early church and he wrote an epistle. And last of all he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time. Now notice he the Lord in resurrection. 2 of the persons that are mentioned by me that he appeared to were Peter, Cephas, Peter and James. Now let's turn to Galatians chapter one where we have the Apostle Paul being saved.
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And going to Jerusalem, and he appeared, or he had a visit with these same 2.
Persons James Galatians, Chapter One, verse 15.
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred. Not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me. But I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him 15 days.
So there's Peter's name mentioned, but other of the apostles saw, I know save James. And now there's no question as to what James he's talking about. James the Lords, brother.
Now the things which I write unto you before God, behold before God I lie not.
He also is mentioned a little bit later in Galatians chapter 2.
Verse 11 The same two men. But when Peter was come to Antioch I was stood into the face because he was to be blamed for before that certain came from James. Same two men mentioned he did eat with the Gentiles, but when they would come he withdrew and separated himself. During them which were of the circumcision. They came from James who was resident at Jerusalem. Now let's turn to Acts chapter 15.
Where we will see the same two mentioned, the two that the Lord appeared to in resurrection, the two that the Apostle Paul saw when he went to Jerusalem, Peter and James. And now we have these same two that pronounce the final sentence that is endorsed by the Holy Spirit that the Gentiles were not to be put under law. Acts 15 verse one. And certain men which came down from Judea, taught the brethren, and said except to be circumcised after the matter of Moses.
You cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension, and disputation with them. They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other events should go up to Jerusalem under the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Tennessee and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, And they cause great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, that is, the Gentiles, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for the consider of this matter.
Now in verse seven we have Peter mentioned.
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto their men. And brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and be saved, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they we Jews, shall be saved even as they Gentiles, on the principle of faith and by grace.
Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. But that's all it says about Barnabas. And Paul doesn't say that they gave any, any, any judgment. Now comes the final judgment, and who is it that gives it? James. This same word that we were looking at. Peter gives his sentence. James gives his. The Lord appeared to Peter and to James. Paul went to Jerusalem and saw Peter and James.
And now we have James verse 13. And after they had held their peace, James answered again. This is the Lord's brother.
Saying men and brethren hearken unto me, Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name, and to this agree, and so on, And then verse 19. Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God, but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollution to vitals, and from fornication, and from thin strangles, and from blood, he said, My sentence is and a little later on just to skip some verses for the sake of time.
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Later on in verse 28, they say it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things. The men that were sent from Jerusalem have arrived at Antioch, and this is what they give them. Just exactly what James had concluded, that she abstained from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well.
So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle, and they rejoiced for the consolation. So here again we have Peter giving his judgment and James, and that's endorsed, and it's spoken as the sentence of the Holy Spirit.
All right, now let's turn to Acts 21.
We will come across James again and the Apostle Paul this time now in Acts 21.
Verse 3 And when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand and sailed into Syria and landed it tire, for there the ship was to unlaid her burden.
And finding disciples, we carried there seven days, who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
They said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem. He was the apostle of the uncircumcision. Peter was the apostle of the circumcision. He was the one that was sent to the Jews. Paul was not, but he loved them. He loved them so much that he says in Romans 10. I could wish myself to be accursed from Christ for my brethren according to the flesh. He loved them so much he was willing to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
But that was in God's mind at all. If he had died at Jerusalem, we wouldn't have the prison epistles. We wouldn't have Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Timothy. We wouldn't have them. We wouldn't have the highest ministry that God has given. It wasn't God's mind that he died at Jerusalem because he had such an intense love for his brethren after the flesh. You see, he was guided by honey.
And whenever we're guided by honey, by just our natural affection, even though that's proper in its place, there's nothing wrong with that. But for that to guide us instead of the word of God, it's wrong.
Nature can't ever answer the call of God.
Nature can't. It has to be subjection to the word of God by the power of the Spirit of God. And here is this mighty man. We saw Peter trying to prevent the Lord from going to the cross because he loved himself and he's rebuilt that Satan.
Get the behind me, Satan. Thou savoured not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. And here the apostle Paul himself, the great apostle to the Gentiles, who wrote the epistle to the Galatians, saying that the Jews and Gentiles are not under law. What's he about to do? Make a serious mistake? Well, let's just follow it through. And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way, verse 5. And they all brought us on our way with wives and children till we were out of the city, And we kneeled down on the shore and prayed.
And when we had taken our leave one of another we took ship, and they returned home again. And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais and saluted the brethren in a boat with them one day. And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed and came into Caesarea. And we entered into the House of Philip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven, and abode with them and the seven. And the same man had four virgin daughters, which he prophecy. And as we tarried there many days there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus.
And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place, we saw him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Then Paul answered what we need to weep and to break my heart. For I am ready not only not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. His motives were pure. He had good motives. He loved his Jewish brethren. He was willing to die for the Lord. There that wasn't God's will, That wasn't God's mind, that wasn't God directing him together. He was told not to go, but he was motivated by his perfect love.
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1St President, I went to God that when we failed, we failed that way, but still it was failure. That's not, that's not mitigate that. Let's not present it as something other than that It was failure. It was hunting. And when you would not be persuaded, we ceased saying the will of the Lord be done. And after those days we took up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mason of Cyprus and old disciple with whom he should live.
And when we were come to Jerusalem, the Brethren received us gladly. Now here they were, Jerusalem. He was told not to go. They pleaded with him not to go, but he goes.
And the day following, Paul went in with us unto James. There's James again. He was the leader of Jerusalem. He was not an apostle. He was the Lord's brother, but he had a place of prominence. He gave the final sentence. We saw it in Acts 15 that the Gentiles were not to be put under law.
Today following Paul went in with us unto James, and all the elders were present. Now he's in a place of weakness, not the place of strength. He wasn't to be at Jerusalem, and so he failed.
And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord and said unto him, Thou seest brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe. And they're all zealous of the law. Today I've decided in Acts 15 the Gentiles were not to be put under law, but it never ended their minds. Not yet that the Jews weren't under law either. These early Jewish Christians, they were still under law. They were zealous for it. And so if this condition of things had been allowed to continue, you would have had a Gentile church not under law, in a Jewish church under law of cortex. Impossible. But God bore with this.
For a while. And the Epistle to the Hebrews was written to deliver the Jews who believed from the law. That's why that was written. That came later. But at this point in time James was under law, and so were all the other things at Jerusalem.
And they are informed of thee, verse 21, that thou teachest to all the Jews which are among the Gentiles, who forsake Moses.
Saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, needed to walk after the customs. What is it? Therefore the multitude must needs come together, for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this, that we say to thee, we have four men which have a vow on them. The Nazarite vow like them, take and purify thyself with them, and be a charges with them, that they may shave their heads. And all may know that those things where they were informed concerning, they are nothing but that thou thyself also walk us orderly, and keep us the law.
Now here we have the great apostles.
Of the Gentiles.
Putting himself under the law.
In order to appease these Jews who believed who were under law.
As touching the Gentiles which believed. Going back to Acts 15, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Why didn't Paul then say just a minute? You Jews who believe aren't under law either.
It doesn't do that.
You didn't have the power to do that. Not a Jerusalem.
So what does he do then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification. Until then, an offering should be offered for every one of them. And when the seven days were almost ended, God did not allow him to carry this vow out.
He interrupts it.
The Jews, which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands on him.
Crying out men of Israel help. This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people and the law in this place, and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and have polluted this holy place. For they had seen before with him in the city of Trophymus, in the city Trophymas and Egypt, and Ephesians, whom they suppose that Paul had brought into the Temple.
And all the city was moved, and the people ran together, and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple. And forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to kill him tidings came under the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar, who immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down onto them. And when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul. Then chief captain came there and took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains, and demanded who he was and what he had done, and so on.
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So he gets to groan as a prisoner in chains. God saw to it. But he almost loses his life that he loses him. He said he was willing to do that, but that wasn't God's mind. He was led by nature.
He was led for his intense love for his grazing after the Flash.
You can't fault him for that, but you see, there's something higher than that.
And that's the will of God.
And the Christian is to walk as Christ walked through, always walked according to, and in the will of God.
There's only one man that's been here. All others have failed. Abraham faith.
To walk, to answer the call of God as long as terror his father was alive.
Peter failed because he had natural love for the Lord Jesus.
Paul faith because he had natural love for his Jewish friend we've all faced.
We've all allowed hunting.
On nature to guide us as to many areas in our lives, whereas it ought to be.
And the will of God.
There was one man that always acted accordingly to the real God, precious sacred.
And we're to walk. If she walked, we know we failed. The greatest apostles fail.
Week there, too.
But how important that we don't act and make our decisions.
On the level of nature.
But according to the word of God.
Without having.